Anthony Bourdain Quotes & Sayings

What you're going to be eating in the next year is decided by chefs. If the consensus is that pot-bellies are in next season, that's what's on your plate. And I think that's a good thing, because we know, obviously, about food. — Anthony Bourdain

You realize after you travel enough that there's some things that, no matter how good you are at making television, no matter how good your cameras are, how well it's edited, there's no way the lenses could have captured the moment, and there's no way you will ever be able to write about it and do it justice. — Anthony Bourdain

I believe - to the best of my recollection, anyway - that I soon made the classic error of moving from margaritas to actual shots of straight tequila. It does make it easier to meet new people. — Anthony Bourdain

The menu selections for my brother and me expanded somewhat, to include steak-frites and steak hache (hamburger). — Anthony Bourdain

To the extent I am known, I think I am known as a person who expresses his opinion freely about things - and I was sensitive to the possibility that if I was seen taking money for saying nice things about a product, my comments and choices and opinions would become, understandably, suspect. — Anthony Bourdain

I could do one show after another in China for the rest of my life and still die ignorant. There's a lot of places left to go. — Anthony Bourdain

Always was Morocco. And recently the country's leadership seems to have embraced it in all its ill-reputed glory. The days of predatory poets in search of literary inspiration and young flesh are probably over for good. Hippies can just as easily get their bong riffs in Portland or Peoria. But the good stuff, the real good stuff, the sounds and smells and the look of Tangier
what you see and hear when you lean out the window and take it all in
that's here to stay. — Anthony Bourdain

I hated the Naked Chef. Fine, yes, he did good things for school food or whatever, but, you know, I don't want my chefs to be cute and adorable. — Anthony Bourdain

Bad food is made without pride, by cooks who have no pride, and no love. Bad food is made by chefs who are indifferent, or who are trying to be everything to everybody, who are trying to please everyone ... Bad food is fake food ... food that shows fear and lack of confidence in people's ability to discern or to make decisions about their lives. — Anthony Bourdain

In my house, neither my wife nor my daughter are impressed that I'm on television, and they remind me of that frequently. — Anthony Bourdain

I lurched away from the table after a few hours feeling like Elvis in Vegas - fat, drugged, and completely out of it. — Anthony Bourdain

Cuisine in the world - whole roasted fish, Tuscan-style, for instance - — Anthony Bourdain

There are people with otherwise chaotic and disorganized lives, a certain type of person that's always found a home in the restaurant business in much the same way that a lot of people find a home in the military. — Anthony Bourdain

Good food is very often, even most often, simple food. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm sure that at no point in my life could I ever have shown the kind of focus and discipline and commitment necessary to work a station at elBulli or Le Bernardin. No. That ain't me. — Anthony Bourdain

Don't lie about it. You made a mistake. Admit it and move on. Just don't do it again. Ever — Anthony Bourdain

People everywhere have been very, very good to me, whether I'm with or without cameras. — Anthony Bourdain

I've seen zero evidence of any nation on Earth other than Mexico even remotely having the slightest clue what Mexican food is about or even come close to reproducing it. It is perhaps the most misunderstood country and cuisine on Earth. — Anthony Bourdain

I like telling stories, and I tell stories that interest me. It would be boring to have to go to nothing but the best restaurants. That would be a misery to me. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm at my most productive before I even have my first cup of coffee. I only get slower and stupider as the day progresses. — Anthony Bourdain

In that sense, what a great way to live, if you could always do things that interest you, and do them with people who interest you. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I stop working - if I ever stop working. I like the idea of keeling over in my tomato vines in Sardinia or northern Italy. — Anthony Bourdain

I, a product of the New Frontier and Great Society, honestly believed that the world pretty much owed me a living
all I had to do was wait around in order to live better than my parents. — Anthony Bourdain

I often look ridiculous in Japan. There's really no way to eat in Japan, particularly kaiseki in a traditional ryokan, without offending the Japanese horribly. Every gesture, every movement is just so atrociously wrong, and the more I try, the more hilarious it is. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm not afraid to look like an idiot. — Anthony Bourdain

Demi-glace. There are a lot of ways to make demi-glace, but I recommend you simply take your already reduced meat stock, add some red wine, toss in some shallots and fresh thyme and a bay leaf and peppercorns, and slowly, slowly simmer it and reduce it again until it coats a spoon. Strain. Freeze this stuff in an ice-cube tray, pop out a cube or two as needed, and you are in business - you can rule the world. And remember, when making a sauce with demi-glace, don't forget to monter au beurre. Chervil, — Anthony Bourdain

People's choice to become vegan, from people I've spoken to, seems motivated by fear. — Anthony Bourdain

I wouldn't want to compare myself to David Byrne whom I consider a genius, but what I think what we have in common is that he's also a guy who is very interested in the world and who has a lot of passions beyond singing and playing guitar. — Anthony Bourdain

When I was writing 'Kitchen Confidential,' I was in my 40s, I had never paid rent on time, I was 10 years behind on my taxes, I had never owned my own furniture or a car. — Anthony Bourdain

You dropped a 500-seat deuce on Times Square. — Anthony Bourdain

Naturally, I'm misanthropic. But the Negronis are helping considerably. — Anthony Bourdain

Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm not Ted Nugent. My house is run, essentially, by an adopted, fully clawed cat with a mean nature. I would never hunt. I would never wear fur. I would never go to a bullfight. I'm not really a meat and potatoes guy. — Anthony Bourdain

What took me to cooking was that there was something honest about it, says David Chang. There is no lying in the kitchen. And no god there, either. He couldn't help you anyway. You either can - or can't - make an omelet. You either can - or can't - chop an onion, shake a pan, keep up with the other cooks, replicate again and again, perfectly, the dishes that need to be done. No credential, no amount of bullshit, no well-formed sentences or pleas for mercy will change the basic facts. The kitchen is the last meritocracy - a world of absolutes; one knows without any ambiguity at the end of each day how one did. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm a guy who should not have a lot of free time. But when it comes to vacation, I like to pull the plug completely. It's all about my daughter - I'm no longer the star of my own movie. — Anthony Bourdain

Only one in four has a chance at making it ... And right there, I knew that if one of us was getting off dope, and staying off dope, it was going to be me. I was going to live. I was the guy. — Anthony Bourdain

The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen. — Anthony Bourdain

I think that if all kids aspire to reach a point where they could feed themselves and a few of their friends, this would be good for the world surely. — Anthony Bourdain

Where once they used to say, 'Cocaine is God's way of saying you have too much money' - now, maybe EDM is. Come ye lords and princelings of douchedom. — Anthony Bourdain

Selling out is getting a job. — Anthony Bourdain

As well, there's the age-old syndrome common to fans of musicians with passionate and discerning cult followings. When the objects of adulation are crass enough to become popular, they quickly become a case of "used to be good. — Anthony Bourdain

In another telling anomaly of the meat-grinding business, many of the larger slaughterhouses will sell their product only to grinders who agree to not test their product for E. coli contamination
until after it's run through a grinder with a whole bunch of other meat from other sources ... It's like demanding of a date that she have unprotected sex with four or five other guys immediately before sleeping with you
just so she can't point the finger directly at you should she later test positive for clap. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm a comic nerd. I'm a former serious collector for much of my childhood and early teen years I wanted to draw underground comics. — Anthony Bourdain

Don't touch my d**k, don't touch my knife. — Anthony Bourdain

Just because we are not Italian, does not mean we cannot appreciate Michelangelo, it is the same with cuisine. — Anthony Bourdain

Don't touch my dick, don't touch my knife. — Anthony Bourdain

I always entertain the notion that I'm wrong, or that I'll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm married to an Italian woman, and I used to love cooking Italian at home, because it's one-pot cooking. But my wife does not approve of my Italian cooking. — Anthony Bourdain

I saw how three or four ingredients, as long as they are of the highest and freshest quality, can be combined in a straightforward way to make a truly excellent and occasionally wondrous product. — Anthony Bourdain

Unlicensed hooch from a stranger in a parking lot. Good idea? Yes, of course it is. — Anthony Bourdain

The Kobe craze really annoyed me. Most of the practitioners had no real understanding of the product and were abusing it and exploiting it in terrible and ridiculous ways. Kobe beef should not be used in a hamburger. It's completely pointless. — Anthony Bourdain

What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast? — Anthony Bourdain

If you have a good experience in a restaurant, you tell 2 people. If you have a bad experience, you tell 10 people. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm not trying to explain other cultures, or to give a fair and balanced account of a country, or the top ten things you need to know. I'm not trying to spread world peace and understanding. I'm not an advocate or an activist or an educator or a journalist. I'm out there trying to tell stories the best I can. — Anthony Bourdain

If you go to working class, and working poor areas of America, the food sources that are relegated to them are generally limited to unhealthy ones. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm a radical environmentalist; I think the sooner we asphyxiate in our own filth, the better. The world will do better without us. Maybe some fuzzy animals will go with us, but there'll be plenty of other animals, and they'll be back. — Anthony Bourdain

It just seems there's better things to do in your life than be on television if it's not interesting, if it's not challenging, if it's not fun. You know? When it stops being those things for me, I'll stop making television. — Anthony Bourdain

Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard have given us a deep and important look at the people, places and cuisine that are reshaping what we want for dinner. Koreatown thrills with flavors that will change your life. — Anthony Bourdain

I'd learned something ... Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight and impress. It had the power to please me ... and others. This was valuable information. — Anthony Bourdain

For me, the cooking life has been a long love affair, with moments both sublime and ridiculous. — Anthony Bourdain

My French definitely improves the more I drink, as I worry less and less about absolutely perfect grammar. I do speak and understand the language, just not particularly well. — Anthony Bourdain

The Congo was the most difficult shoot of my life but was also maybe the greatest adventure of my life. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm evangelical on the subject of some chefs and writers. — Anthony Bourdain

As a chef I'm not your dietitian or your ethicist, I'm in the pleasure business. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm a control freak. If you're going to slap my name on something, I would like to control it. — Anthony Bourdain

Learn how to cook a (effing) omelet. I mean, what nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast? You look good doing it, and it's a nice thing to do for somebody you just had sex with. — Anthony Bourdain

I believe I should be able to treat my hamburger like food, not like infectious fucking medical waste. — Anthony Bourdain

There are chefs who are spectacular technicians, and often their food is worth eating once or twice, but if there's no heart in it, if there's no personality in it, it's not something you want to go back for. But heart without any skill at all? All the heart in the world ain't gonna help you if you can't peel an onion, or if you don't understand how to apply heat properly. A well-done steak is a well-done steak. — Anthony Bourdain

There is no other place on earth even remotely like New Orleans. Don't even try to compare it to anywhere else. — Anthony Bourdain

I feel that if Jacques Pepin shows you how to make an omelet, the matter is pretty much settled. That's God talking. — Anthony Bourdain

It's an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after,you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you've been and whats happened. In the end, you're just happy you were there- with your eyes open- and lived to see it. — Anthony Bourdain

A sampler of England's hottest 'chefs' would include a mostly hairless young blond lad named Jamie Oliver, who is referred to as the Naked Chef. As best as I can comprehend, he's a really rich guy who pretends he scoots around on a Vespa, hangs out in some East End cold-water flat, and cooks green curry for his 'mates'. He's a TV chef, so few actually eat his food. I've never seen him naked. I believe the 'Naked' refers to his 'simple, straightforward, unadorned' food; though I gather that a great number of matronly housewives would like to believe otherwise. Every time I watch his show, I want to go back in time and bully him at school. — Anthony Bourdain

Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. — Anthony Bourdain

Shepherd's pie'? 'Chili special'? Sounds like leftovers to me. How about swordfish? I like it fine. But my seafood purveyor, when he goes out to dinner, won't eat it. He's seen too many of those 3-foot-long parasitic worms that riddle the fish's flesh. — Anthony Bourdain

While we're on brunch, how about hollandaise sauce? Not for me. Bacteria love hollandaise. And hollandaise, that delicate emulsion of egg yolks and clarified butter, must be held at a temperature not too hot nor too cold, lest it break when spooned over your poached eggs. Unfortunately, this lukewarm holding temperature is also the favorite environment for bacteria to copulate and reproduce in. Nobody I know has ever made hollandaise to order. Most likely, the stuff on your eggs was made hours ago and held on station. Equally disturbing is the likelihood that the butter used in the hollandaise is melted table butter, heated, clarified, and strained to get out all the breadcrumbs and cigarette butts. Butter is expensive, you know. Hollandaise is a veritable petri-dish of biohazards. — Anthony Bourdain

Having a sous-chef with excellent cooking skills and a criminal mind is one of God's great gifts. — Anthony Bourdain

I admire vegetarians who refuse to eat nothing but vegetables in their homes, but I also admire those who put aside those principles or those preferences when they travel. Just to be a good guest. — Anthony Bourdain

And now to sleep, to dream...perchance to fart. — Anthony Bourdain

If you've ever hauled a 28-pound two-year-old around New York, you'll find that men fold at the knees a lot quicker than women. — Anthony Bourdain

I Like this quote I dislike this quoteMy house is run, essentially, by an adopted, fully clawed cat with a mean nature. — Anthony Bourdain

I travel 250 days a year. There are chef friends who I only see every couple of years. By conventional standards I'm a bad friend. I'm not there to remember your birthday or to offer you words of support through Twitter. I'm not up on what you're doing in New York because I'm not in New York. I'm not what people call in parenting circles "present." — Anthony Bourdain

You'd have a hard time finding anything better than Barcelona for food, as far as being a hub. Given a choice between Barcelona and San Sebastian to die in, I'd probably want to die in San Sebastian. — Anthony Bourdain

I love New York. I'm a guy for whom a New York accent is a comforting thing. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm never a reliable narrator, unbiased or objective. — Anthony Bourdain

Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride. — Anthony Bourdain

Margarine? That's not food. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? I can. If you're planning on using margarine in anything, you can stop reading now, because I won't be able to help you. — Anthony Bourdain

The food that comes in Tuesday is fresh, the station prep is new, and the chef is well rested after a Sunday or a Monday off. It's the real start of the new week, when you've got the goodwill of the kitchen on your side. Fridays and Saturdays, the food is fresh, but it's busy, so the chef and cooks can't pay as much attention to your food as they - and you - might like. — Anthony Bourdain

I have long believed that it is only right and appropriate that before one sleeps with someone, one should be able - if called upon to do so - to make them a proper omelet in the morning. Surely that kind of civility and selflessness would be both good manners and good for the world. Perhaps omelet skills should be learned at the same time you learn to fuck. Perhaps there should be an unspoken agreement that in the event of loss of virginity, the more experienced of the partners should, afterward, make the other an omelet - passing along the skill at an important and presumably memorable moment. — Anthony Bourdain

It's been about a week without alcohol of any kind. I'm enjoying my new, clean-living lifestyle. — Anthony Bourdain

He doesn't yearn for a better, different life than the one he has - because he knows he's got a home in this one. — Anthony Bourdain

Anyone who's a chef, who loves food, ultimately knows that all that matters is: 'Is it good? Does it give pleasure?' — Anthony Bourdain

When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you've been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you've got Type 2 Diabetes ... It's in bad taste if nothing else, — Anthony Bourdain

Bigfoot understood - as I came to understand - that character is far more important than skills or employment history. And he recognized character - good and bad - brilliantly. He understood, and taught me, that a guy who shows up every day on time, never calls in sick, and does what he said he was going to do, is less likely to fuck you in the end than a guy who has an incredible resume but is less than reliable about arrival time. Skills can be taught. Character you either have or don't have. Bigfoot understood that there are two types of people in the world: those who do what they say they're going to do - and everyone else. — Anthony Bourdain

I love the masochistic aspect of eating seething, real Sichuan food in Sichuan Province. — Anthony Bourdain

Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don't have. — Anthony Bourdain

I can unload my opinion on anybody at anytime. — Anthony Bourdain

I am in no way supportive of hunting for trophies or sport - would never do it and don't like it that others do. But if you kill it, then eat it, it's fine. — Anthony Bourdain

Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards. — Anthony Bourdain

I'm not impressed by any cooks who can brag about a filet mignon. A guy who can take the neck of a shank or can use tripe to make into something delicious is really interesting to me; that's impressive. — Anthony Bourdain

I make friends faster and easier than journalists. — Anthony Bourdain